Jackie Robinson’s Radio Shots

 

One of the more impressive aspects of his trailblazing life is that Jackie Robinson had a wide and varied interest in the world, and his career reflected that. As early as college, when he became a four-letter athlete, Robinson would not be pigeonholed into one path. The all-encompassing nature of his talents could certainly be seen in his time on the diamond, when he could beat you with his bat, legs, and glove, but it was most starkly on display in his post-playing career. In the years after he left the Dodgers, he was a businessman, a philanthropist, and an activist—all in different fields, from coffee, to construction, to politics.

He also maintained an intermittent career in the media. He broke racial ground again in 1965 when he became the first Black member of a national network broadcast team on ABC’s Major League Baseball Game of the Week. Yet, even before he regularly appeared in a television booth, he had a brief career as a radio host. Beginning in 1960, he sat behind the desk for a series of interviews produced by RCA for national syndication, called Jackie Robinson’s Radio Shots. Roughly 90 episodes of this program survive, and a look at the roster of guests gives a keen insight into the eclectic nature of Robinson’s interests. There are certainly interviews with some of baseball’s more interesting names (more on them later), but this series of programs, most clocking in somewhere between two-and-a-half and three minutes in length, goes far beyond the diamond.

The athletic world is well-represented, including watersports. Professional fisherman Moe Hoffman appeared on the program three times. They spoke of the rising popularity of the sport, particularly amongst women and families, how a novice could get started and, of course, swapped stories about “the big one.” Robinson also devoted two episodes to waterskier and boating expert Tom Dorwin who, along with his sister Janie, was a hall of famer in his sport.1 Today, the Tommy Dorwin Award is given annually to the outstanding judge at the national waterskiing championships.

There were also three episodes devoted to swimming, each with a different guest. These were particularly notable because two of those episodes featured women, whose athletic feats were often ignored by the press of the time. Greta Andersen, two-time Olympic medal recipient in 1948, spoke with Robinson about the training regimen for one of her upcoming crossings of the English Channel, a feat she ultimately accomplished six times. Robinson also spoke to legendary Olympian Alice Landon, who swam the Long Island Sound as a 13-year-old girl (in 1915!) before embarking on a hall of fame2 career in the water.

Horse racing was of particular interest to Robinson, serving as the subject of 13 surviving episodes of the program, second only to baseball. As with the rest of his life, Robinson’s interest in the Sport of Kings was not limited in scope. He dedicated episodes to a notable breeder (Noel Simpson), official (Jimmy Kilroe), trainer (Sasha Werner), announcer (Fred Capossela), and, of course, jockeys. He featured harness jockey Morris McDonald, as well as Ted Atkinson who, in 1957, became the first active jockey to be elected into the Racing Hall of Fame. Atkinson made multiple appearances on the show. Warren Mehrtens, who won the triple crown in 1946 (only the seventh jockey to accomplish the feat at that point in history), spoke with Robinson about the single-minded focus of most jockeys and how, for him, retirement offered the opportunity to pursue his other interests, a mindset that Robinson could certainly appreciate.

Robinson talked to experts on more esoteric pastimes, including bodybuilding, shooting, and wrestling. Mr. Universe champion Bruce Randall regaled Robinson with the story of how he went from 400 to 185 pounds in just eight months in his journey to become the strongest man on earth. Fred Ruff, president of Colt’s Manufacturing Company, spoke of the varieties of guns that were used in American hunting, as well as the types of game that were popular targets. Robinson took the opportunity to approach the then-less controversial subject of the need for firearm training to cut down on accidents, a point Ruff agreed with (though he wouldn’t go so far as to concede to a national skills test). Professional wrestler and actor Mike Mazurki (a two-time guest) dispensed with the myth that the sport was “fake,” though he did discuss how it had evolved from “real” wrestling to its popular form, filled with “color” and “showmanship.”

Mainstream sports, like boxing and golf, were given plenty of airtime. Tommy Armour, who won 25 PGA tournaments in the 1920s and 30s, appeared on three programs. Armour, who is credited with coining the term the “yips,” after he was suddenly struck with an inability to make short putts, offered advice to parents of young golfers, reminisced about his childhood in Scotland, and explained why he believed golf is “a thinking man’s game.” Robinson kindly avoided the subject of Armour’s record-breaking 18-over-par implosion at the 1927 Shawnee Open.

Boxer Ralph “Tiger” Jones appeared on the program twice. Jones shocked the boxing world when he defeated heavily-favored Sugar Ray Robinson in 1955, only the fourth time that had happened in Robinson’s career, against 133 victories. Jones used his airtime to tease his defeated foe about the fact that despite Jones’s urging, Sugar Ray Robinson refused to meet him in the ring for a rematch. When interviewing Chico Vejar (who also lost to Jones in 1957), Robinson steered the conversation to the state of boxing. Vejar expounded on Robinson’s question by calling the period the “lowest ebb” in the sport’s history, blaming bad publicity and a lack of quality fighters.

Robinson leapt off the starting point of his conversation with Vejar by dedicating an entire episode to an editorial, something he did four times over the course of Radio Shots. In that program, absent of the typical interview guest, Robinson offered the opinion that a national boxing commissioner, who could implement and enforce rules that would prevent the throwing of bouts and protect the fighters, would go a long way towards restoring public trust in the sport. He also offered his uninterrupted thoughts on creating a national lottery (a concept he favored, with the prescient idea of directing the funds to schools), the art of stealing home (with in-depth insights of his steal in Game One of the 1955 World Series), and on overcoming handicaps.

Ever-conscious of giving voice to society’s underdogs, Robinson invited Junius Kellogg on the show. Kellogg helped expose the infamous CCNY collegiate basketball point-shaving scandal before joining the Harlem Globetrotters. He appeared on the program to discuss the Pan American wheelchair basketball team. Less than a year after joining the Globetrotters, Kellogg was in an automobile accident that damaged his spinal cord and left him paralyzed. He adapted to his injuries and became the coach of a basketball team, sponsored by Pan American Airlines, made up of youths that had all suffered paralyzing injuries as children. Kellogg called his charges the “most competitive” athletes he had ever seen.

Some of the program’s most interesting conversations took place with people who worked behind the scenes in the world of sports, in the fields of production and sportswriting. Television producer Ted Raynor appeared on the program three times. Raynor dispelled the myth that the airing of sports on television was hurtful to a professional team’s financial bottom line, instead arguing that the benefits of an increased media presence far outweighed lost ticket sales. A pioneer in the world of bowling, Raynor also made certain to highlight how his programming brought more women into that sport than ever.

Legendary sportscaster Bill Stern appeared on the program to give advice to aspiring announcers. He also related some of his most memorable experiences in sport, including his most favorite, the 1939 Rose Bowl, when underdog Southern Cal overcame undefeated Duke 7-3, with a touchdown in the closing seconds. Dick Young, winner of the BBWAA Career Excellence Award in 1978, and a vocal advocate of Robinson’s when he integrated the Dodgers, had a frank conversation with his host about the personality conflicts that can sometimes separate professional athletes and the writers who cover them.

Robinson also looked outside of the world of sports for subject matter. He frequently spoke with entertainers, including songwriter Gordon Jenkins, whose music was sung by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, and Johnny Cash. Superstar singer Johnny Mathis appeared on the program to discuss his large family and his collegiate athletic skills, including his connection to fellow high-jumper (and future NBA Hall of Famer) Bill Russell. One of the most adorable episodes in the whole Radio Shots series was when Robinson interviewed young star Paul O’Keefe, who took over the role of Winthrop Paroo in Broadway’s The Music Man, the part that would be played by Ron Howard in the film version. In his high-pitched voice, O’Keefe delighted Robinson as he spoke of his love for boats and his desire to leave acting to play football when he grew up.

Impresario, and former sportswriter, Ed Sullivan appeared on the program in an interesting role reversal. Despite having been friends since Robinson’s earliest days on the Dodgers, the two had never sat down for a formal interview. Even though Robinson was the host of the show, Sullivan instead chose to use the opportunity to ask Robinson a pair of questions he always wanted answered. Who was the toughest pitcher Robinson ever faced? Ewell Blackwell. Who was the greatest hitter he ever saw? Ted Williams. Robinson also took the time to remember an early article of Sullivan’s in which he asked fans to set their prejudices aside and appreciate the wonder that was Robinson, the multi-talented ballplayer.

Predictably, it was baseball that saw the most airtime on the program, with 16 of the surviving episodes dedicated to the sport that made Robinson a legend. “The Clown Prince of Baseball,” Al Schacht, appeared on the show three times, where he launched into some of the routines that made him famous even after his days as a player and coach were over. Don Drysdale, who had played besides Robinson during the latter’s final season in Brooklyn, discussed the unexpected success of the 1959 Dodgers squad. Monte Irvin lamented with Robinson over the years he lost to segregation, which kept him from joining the New York Giants until 1949, when he was 31 years old. In a minor slight to his former teammate, Robinson took the opportunity to tell Irvin that he should have won the 1951 MVP Award instead of Roy Campanella.

Two of the most intriguing conversations from the world of baseball were with Branch Rickey and Satchel Paige, both of whom appeared on the program twice. At the time of their interview, Rickey was entrenched in his plan to start the Continental League, and he and Robinson discussed some of the ideas that would separate the doomed league from the current world of organized baseball. They also spoke of the hope that a third league would bring to the burgeoning world of Little League, and the additional employment opportunities it would present. Buried in Rickey’s enthusiastic proselytizing for his league, these episodes are tinted with a warmth between the two old colleagues that is felt across the decades.

When talking with Paige, Robinson, who had already famously spoken of his dissatisfaction with his brief time in the Negro Leagues, recalled the grueling schedule of the league, including their shared season together on the 1945 Kansas City Monarchs. They also discussed Josh Gibson, who Robinson called “the greatest hitter baseball has produced,” and the friendly rivalry that existed between the two Negro League greats. In his own words, Paige recalled the iconic tale of walking three batters on purpose, just so he could strike out Gibson with the bases loaded. Another entertaining anecdote from the interview included the story of the derivation of the nickname “Satchel.” In this telling (the answer often varied), Paige claimed it was because as a child he always carried his baseball equipment with him in a bag, and if the other boys wouldn’t let him play, he would leave and take all of the equipment home. Paige also advised Robinson on how to deal with stomach troubles. His miracle cure? Goat’s milk.

There are dozens more guests who appeared on Radio Shots, including: Charles Start, the head of a program to coach amateur athletes; General Omar Bradley, the first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the architect of the Korean War; Ann Eastham, an entertainer who appeared at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, where she rode a high-diving horse which leapt from a height of 75 feet to a tank of water below. Seemingly no subject was off the table for the polymathic Robinson. Radio Shots is a rarely discussed part of Robinson’s legacy, but it offers an interesting glimpse into the curious mind of one of America’s greatest heroes.

RALPH CARHART is the author of The Hall Ball: One Fan’s Journey to Unite Cooperstown Immortals with a Single Baseball [McFarland 2020], and the creator of the eponymous artifact that visited with every member of the Hall of Fame, living and deceased. With Not an Easy Tale to Tell, Ralph has contributed to six SABR volumes. His latest effort for SABR was the biography of Rachel Robinson, which appeared in 2021’s Jackie: Perspectives on 42. He is currently writing a history of Brooklyn, dating back to the Lenape Indians, as told through the lens of baseball.

 

Author’s Note

There are multiple ways to listen to Jackie Robinson’s Radio Shots online, including purchasing them for your own collection. One site that has them available for streaming is Old Time Radio Downloads: https://www.oldtimeradiodown-loads.com/sports/jackie-robinsons-radio-shots

 

Notes

1 Wisconsin Water Ski Federation Hall of Fame: https://www.waterski.org/hall-of-fame-inductees/dorwin-family

2 International Swimming Hall of Fame: https://www.ishof.org/honoree/?_sf_s=landon